Recruiting the Student

This spreadsheet contains details on timelines for posting job descriptions, interviewing, placement time and duration, type of activities sought by the institution, and salary expectations. Please note that for some of the institutions there is no salary expectation, but AFHTO encourages some kind of remuneration be paid to the student in recognition of their contribution.  If the schools rules forbid paying the student for the placement, a Thank You gift or a stipend at the end of the term of employment would be appropriate.  Links to further program details and any relevant forms or documents are also within the spreadsheet. Explanation of Spreadsheet Be specific in the activities that you want the student to undertake during the placement as this will form the basis of the job posting with the institution. You have a choice of what type of student you wish to hire. However, it is important to remember that if you plan to hire a student from a recognized program this is a work term with specific requirements.  It is recommended during a placement that the following should be considered:

• Create a comprehensive plan for their work term at the beginning of their term and review it part way through the term and again at the end.
• Students should interact with and receive guidance from key staff in the team on a regular basis and be included in staff/team meetings to ensure their work is consistent with the priorities of the team.
• Projects assigned should have clearly defined deliverables that the student can complete within his or her work term and that he or she will also have an opportunity to test the recommendations from these quality improvement studies.
• This is an opportunity for students to be introduced to the field of quality improvement and quality assurance in healthcare and, where quality work is headed.

Below is a list of some of the activities you may want to have your student involved with.

• EMR Roster cleanup – compare EMR roster with MOH roster list
• Chronic disease coding in problem list (diabetes, COPD, asthma, HTN etc.) – identify patients with chronic diseases and code in EMR so records are searchable
• Risk factor coding – e.g., identifying and coding patients who smoke
• Cancer screening (pap smear, mammogram, FOBT tests) – create lists of patients who are out of date with screening
• Install WHO growth charts in charts of children 2-18 yrs. old to monitor trends in growth patterns
• Work on a series of projects designed to evaluate current processes and make recommendations for process improvement
• Create benchmark reports, auditing of programs, and the establishment of regular reports on key quality indicators.
• Update e-forms, patient satisfaction surveys

The above activities and any additional qualifications you require should be included in your job description.  See Appendix D for a sample job description for a student from a recognized program.   (Thank you to the Queens Family Health Team for sharing this with us).  

a)       Start the recruitment process.

This varies according to the choice of student and institution. (Refer to this spreadsheet to compare options) .  AFHTO is considering a number of ways to support Family Health Teams in hiring a student and the toolkit is just one. If you have other creative suggestions on how AFHTO could support you further, please let us know by contacting Catherine Macdonald.

• Choose the school or local organization you’d like to work with based on timelines
• Initiate contact with the designated person at the institution (see spreadsheet) to discuss how to proceed and how student resumes will be reviewed and shortlisted for interviews
• Determine how student resumes will be reviewed and shortlisted for interviewed if you are hiring locally.
• Complete government forms and/or application forms for the school of choice
• Post the job description with the appropriate school or local newspaper as needed
• Provide the timeline and the review process for how students are to apply

b)       Interview and select candidates.

Interviewing applicants requires a consistent process to allow for a fair evaluation.  Schools may have their own processes to pre-screen students. Your practice will be interviewing the final candidates as well, so preparing your interview staff will be important.  You will want to design a scoring process to ensure the evaluation is done consistently regardless of who is interviewing. Interview questions should be developed to allow the student and your team to determine a good culture fit. During an interview you may want to start with the following guidance and questions, but you may also want to create some questions that are specific to the needs of your team.   See Appendix E for a sample interview guide. (Thank you to the Queens Family Health Team for sharing their guide)

• Introduce Interviewers and explain their roles – (this gives the student an opportunity to see what types of roles exist within the practice and how they work together)
• Review interview process – (what’s the process, start with first interview, will there be a second interview, how will they be notified if they are successful)
• Give an overview of the position and department (salary and accommodations to be discussed at end)
• Review their resume and clarify questions with the candidate as required

Sample Questions and what to look for in the students responses:

Once the questions have been completed:   

• Answer any questions from the candidate
• Request References
• Indicate timeline for final decision  (how will the successful candidate be notified)